This article is classified "Real"
Anyone who has fallen victim to a vicious garden gnome armed with a rusty
fishing rod [1], or has dressed as a troll and leapt into a murky river and
sliced their leg open will know the annoyance that is the Tetanus
Injection.
Originally touted as a preventive jab against infection, the Tetanus
Injection (literally: needle-up-the-bum) now forms an integral part of
health education. In these modern times, I'm certain that the contents of
this injection could be formulated into a pill or ointment, but still the
medical profession administer it in its most painful format. Hence my
theory that this is done to dissuade one from repeating the action that
precipitated the requirement for the injection.
The injection acts as a Pavlovian Stick, with the hope that the feeble mind
will associate the pain and humiliation of a needle in the backside with
whatever deed of stupidity was the cause of the injury. While this theory
is refuted by doctors, it is however a plausible notion.
[1] An actual incident of this occured in the early 1980s. A woman had
been planting seeds in her garden, using the fishing rod of a garden
gnome to poke holes in the soil for the seeds. Several days later she
walked past the gnome, scraped her leg on the rod and shortly died of
lockjaw.